Double lap seam felling machine



Nov. 17, 1936.

F. A. KUCERA DOUBLE LAP SEAM FELLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1934 Figs 2 TShets-Sheet 1 Nov. 17, 1936.

F. A. KUCERA DOUBLE LAP SEAM FELLI NG MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1934 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 17, 1936. KUCERA 2,061,360

DOUBLE LAP SEAM FELLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 17, 1936 PATENT OFFICE DOUBLE LAP SEAM FELLING MACHINE Frank A. Kucera, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 2, 1934, Serial No. 751,219

6 Claims.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in a sewing machine for fell seaming and more particularly to the means for guiding and directing the folded edge portions of the 5 fabric sections to the needles.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type wherein means is provided for positively directing and guiding the folded edge portions of the respective fabrics so that the needles will pass through the respective folded edge portions at a uniform distance from the edge of the folded edge portions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type wherein the throat plate is provided with means for guiding the folded edgeportion of the under fabric section while the presser foot is provided with means for guiding the folded edge portion of the upper fabric section.

' 20 A still further object of the invention is to provide means cooperating with the guiding means on the throat plate for holding the folded edge of the under fabric section in contact with said guiding means. A still further object of the 25 invention is to provide a machine of the above type with means for positively'holdingthe folded edge portion of the upper fabric section in contact with the guiding meanson the presser foot.

30 These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully dis closed.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a, front view of a portion of a sewing machine having the improvements applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in section taken above the presser foot.

Figure 3 is a view partly in plan and partly in section showing the throat plate and the fabric guiding means which cooperates with the guiding wall on the throat plate for guiding the under fabric section to the stitching mechanism.

Figure 4 is a view in section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the throat plate.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5' and showing in section one fabric sec- 50 tion and in dotted lines the other. a Figure '7 is a sectional View through the fabric sections after they have been joined me. fell seam on the machine.

The machine includes a stitchingmechanism .55. having. two needles with; a looper cooperating 4 reciprocates. two'needles 5 and B. Cooperating withthe needle with each needle so as to make two independent lines of stitching. The material is fed across the worksupport by theusual feed dog "and is held on the work support by the presser foot.

Located directly in front of the presser foot is a folder which interfolds the two fabric sections to form the fell seam; The throat plate is provided with a recess directly in front ofthe needles providing the wall which guides the folded edge portion of the under fabric section. The presser foot is provided'with a recess ex- "tending longitudinally along the underface of the foot which provides a space for guiding and directing the interfolded fabric sections and one wall of the recess serves as aguiding means l'or" the folded edge of the upper fabric section. In order that these folded edge portions shall be held in contact with the guide walls provided therefor, the folder is provided with a finger which extends underneath the folded part of the" under fabric section and contacts with the inner face of thefolded edge portion so as'to hold it against the guiding wall of the throat plate.

' The folder is also provided with a guiding member which extends between the upper section and the folded part thereof and contacts with the inner face of the folded edge portion for directing it along the guiding wall ofthe presser foot.

Referringmore in detail to thedrawings, the machine includes a supporting bed I on whichf is mounted a work support 2. overhanging the work support 2 is an arm 3 in which a needle bar Mounted on said needle bar are 6 is a looper l and cooperating with the-needle 5 is a looper 8. These loopers are mounted on a looper carrier 9 which is pivoted at H] to the looper support and the looper carrier is moved back and forth by a link I I. The stitch forming mechanism forms no part of the present invention and further detailed description thereof is not thought necessary.

The work support 2 is provided with a throat plate 12. Said throat plate 12 has feed slots [3,

l l and l5 through which sections of the feed dog Hi extend for engaging and moving thefabric. The throat plate is also provided with a slot I! for the needle 5 and a slot 18 for the needle- 6.

Cooperating with the feed and holding the fabric on the throat plate during stitching is apresser foot l9. Said presser foot is provided with needle slots 20 and 2! through which the needles 5 and'fi operate respectively. The presser foot is provided with a recess 22 on-its'under face which extends all the way to the front and the rear of the presser foot and this recess has guiding walls which are substantially in alignment with the outer sides of the needle slots, and the recess is for the purpose of guiding the interfolded fabric sections during the stitching of the same.

In Figure 7 of the drawings the two fabric sections which are to be joined are shown. One section is indicated at A and the other section is indicated at B. The upper fabric section has its edge portion folded underneath as indicated at a and this provides a folded edge portion a. The under fabric section has its edge portion folded over as indicated at 11, providing a folded edge portion b. The needle 5 produces a line of stitching indicated at n while the needle 6 produces a line of stitching indicated at n.

In the fell seaming of these fabric sections it is desirable to place the line of stitching close to the folded edge portion of the fabric section and therefore some means is necessary in order to prevent the folded edge portion from creeping in or creeping out away from the center of the seam and thus producing an irregularly disposed line of stitching relative to the folded edge portion of the fabric section. In order to overcome this creeping of the fabric sections, the throat plate is provided with a recess 23. This recess extends from a point in front of the feed slots I3 and ii; to a point just in front of the needle slots l! and i8, In order that transverse loopers may be used, the needles are placed in a line diagonal to the line of feed and, therefore, the needle slot I! is slightly in advance of the needle slot 118. This recess provides a vertical wall 24 which extends from the front of the recess to the rear thereof and terminates adjacent and in front of the needle slot I8. The wall 24 is substantially in alignment with the outside wall of the needle slot I 8.

In front of the presser foot is a folder for interfolding the fabric sections to form the fell seam. This folder consists of a supporting plate 25 carrying a scroll member 26. The under fabric section is directed over an extension 21 of the scroll member 26 so that the edge portion thereof contacts with the scroll member and is folded back over on itself. Attached to the supporting plate is an upper folder member 28 which extends over this scroll member 26 where it extends downwardly, thence inwardly and thence again downwardly and outwardly and upwardly so as to form a folding scroll 29. The upper fabric section extends over this upper folder 23 and the edge portion is directed into a channel so that it is underturned. The scroll member 29 underturning the edge portion of the upper fabric section and the scroll member 26 overturning the edge portion of the under fabric section are so disposed that these folded parts of the fabric sections are interengaged as clearly shown in Figures 4 and '7 of the drawings. This folder, so far as the folding of the fabric sections to form a fell seam is concerned, is of the usual construction.

The upper folder has a projecting finger 3!! which extends beyond the folder parts and to a point adjacent the inner end of the guiding wall 24. The under fabric section is folded over this finger so that the finger contacts with the inner face of the folded edge portion of the fabric section, that is, the inner face of the fabric where it is folded in the forming of the fell seam. This finger serves to hold the folded edge portion of the under fabric section close up to the guiding wall 24 and insures that the edge portion will not creep to the left relative to the wall so that the needle will pass outside of the folded edge portion. The guiding wall 24 also positively directs the folded edge portion of the under fabric section so that the line of stitching will be located a uniform distance from said folded edge portion. By this positive guiding means for the fabric section, the line of stitching may be placed very close to the folded edge portion of the under fabric section without any danger of the needle stepping over the edge.

The upper folder 28 is also provided with a projecting portion 3| which lies between the underturned edge portions of the upper fabric section. This projecting portion 3| contacts with the inner face of the folded edge portion of the upper fabric section and it lies close to a vertical wall 32 in the presser foot which guides the folded edge portion of the upper fabric section. This portion 3| will prevent any creeping of the upper fabric section to the right as viewed in Figure 4 so that the needle will step over the edge of the fabric while the guiding wall 32 on the presser foot prevents any creeping to the left as viewed in this figure, and thus the line of stitching made by the needle 5 can be placed very close to the folded edge a of the upper fabric section and at a uniform distance therefrom.

It will be noted from the above that means has been provided for positively directing the folded edge portions of the interfolded fabric sections during the forming of the fell seam so that these folded edge portions will pass a uniform distance from their respective needles and the lines of stitching will be uniformly placed relative to said folded edge portions. Inasmuch as the edge portions are under positive control at all times, there can be no creeping of the fabric sections so that the needle will step over the edge without penetrating the folded edge portion.

While a two needle stitching mechanism has been shown and described, it is understood that any suitable stitch forming mechanism may be used.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A sewing machine for felled seaming 'comprising spaced needles arranged in a line diagonally of the line of feed, a folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a felled seam, means terminating immediately in front of the needle, stitching the fabric sections adjacent the folded edge in the upper fabric section for positively guiding said folded edge to said needle, and means terminating immediately in front of the needle stitching the fabric sections adjacent the folded edge of the under fabric section for positively guiding said folded edge to said needle.

2. A sewing machine for fell seaming comprising spaced needles, a folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a fell seam, means independent of the folder and contacting with the respective folded edge portions for directing the same to the needles, and means carried by the folder and contacting with said fabric sections respectively at the inner side of the folded edge portions and in the region where the folded edges of the fabric sections contact with the directing means whereby said edge portions are positively directed to the needles.

3. A sewing machine for fell seaming comprising a work support, a throat plate, spaced needles, a presser foot, a folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a fell seam disposed in front of said presser foot, said presser foot and said throat plate having guiding means for contacting with the respective fabric sections at the folded edge portions thereof for directing the same to the needles, and said folder having means contacting with the respective fabric sections at the inside of the folded edge portions and in the region where the folded edges of the fabric sections contact with the directing means for directing the same to the needles.

4. A sewing machine for fell seaming comprising a work support, a throat plate, spaced needles, a presser foot, 21, folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a fell seam disposed in front of said presser foot, said throat plate having a recess formed therein providing a guiding wall extending beneath the presser foot to a point in front of and adjacent the needle operating to stitch a folded edge portion guided by said wall, and means carried by the folder and engaging said fabric section at the inner face of the folded edge portion for maintaining said folded edge portion in contact with said guiding wall.

5. A sewing machine for fell seaming comprising a work support, a throat plate, spaced needles, a presser foot, a folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a fell seam disposed in front of said presser foot, said throat plate having a recess formed therein providing a guiding wall extending beneath the presser foot to a point in front of andadjacent the needle operating to stitch a folded edge portion guided by said wall, and means carried by the folder and engaging said fabric section at the inner face of the folded edge portion for maintaining said folded edge portion in contact with said guiding wall, said presser foot having a recess in its underface to receive the interfolded portions of the fabric sections and providing a guiding wall for guiding the folded edge portion in the other fabric section.

6. A sewing machine for fell seaming comprising a work support, a throat plate, spaced needles, a presser foot, a folder for interfolding fabric sections to form a fell seam disposed in front of said presser foot, said throat plate having a recess formed therein providing a guiding wall extending beneath the presser foot to a point in front of and adjacent the needle operating to stitch a folded edge portion guided by said wall, means carried by the folder and engaging said fabric section at the inner face of the folded edge portion for maintaining said folded edge portion in contact with said guiding wall, said presser foot having a recess in its underface to receive the interfolded portions of the fabric sections and providing a guiding wall for guiding the folded edge portion in the other fabric section, and means carried by said folder and contacting with the inner face of the folded edge portion of said other fabric section for maintaining said edge portion in contact with the guiding wall on said presser foot.

FRANK A. KUCERA. 

